Sex sells

So, apparently sex sells. Not only does it sell cars, chocolate, perfume and music, but now it has crept unannounced into the world of literature to sell its seedy wares.

Books have suddenly got sexy, and erotica is now nothing to be ashamed of. I’m fully for people reading things that they enjoy and if a book gets people reading, then that’s great. But why does it have to be something so seedy?

An example of book porn

Personally, I think this upsurge in naughty books has been fuelled by the ebook phenomenon and the rise in self publishing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-Kindle, I am a proud owner of a device myself. I am also not against Indie writers as I have read some brilliant Indie writing.

The Kindle has given the opportunity for people to read what they like, without those around them being able to see and judge. When I’m in London, I do like to see what people are reading on the train or the tube, but I also feel a pang of pride when I see someone reading on a Kindle as they are walking along, risking their life at the edge of the platform as in some ways I see Kindles as a mark of a dedicated reader and in some cases a true book lover.

I suppose some people must get a kick out of reading some “erotic” fiction in a public place, but it is not for me. The Kindle chart is now full of erotica with the types of names and descriptions I would imagine you would find on some sort of snuff movie. When does fiction become porn? Just because it doesn’t have pictures does that make it any less pornographic in reality?

This latest book craze has moved into the paperback arena too. The Fifty Shades series is topping sales charts and I have seen that many book shops have sold out of the trilogy. I am seeing people talking about it on social networks constantly and giving it rave reviews.

I did wonder if it was just me being strange and prudish by not wanting to read badly written porn, but I have discussed this with my good friend Elaine and she wholeheartedly agrees with me. And has even written a blog post about it herself. Go check it out. You’ll like it!

So when you are looking for a book to read, and fancy downloading something new, just say no to the covers featuring naked torsos and manicured talons. Try something a little different. There are plenty of good books out there, and there is plenty of great chick lit if you fancy something a bit lighter with a hint of sex.

Down with the book porn! 

Book Review: Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just as I did with the first book, I really enjoyed this book. It kept me gripped all the way through, but I have given it 4 stars as I didn't think the ending was strong enough.

I like that there is a cliffhanger and I couldn't even begin to guess what will happen next, but I think it is a little rushed. I also think that the writer may have forgotten that although this is part of a trilogy, it is a story in it's own right and the ending should be a little more rounded, yet still want readers wanting more.

Despite this one tiny thing, I still loved the book and have no idea what will happen in the next one.

I would recommend it.

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Book Review: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was looking forward to trying this book as I had heard so many good things about it. I was a little apprehensive as it is totally outside of the type of books I normally read and I usually avoid young adult books.

I had a very pleasant suprise with this book.

It is really well written and creates vivid imagery for the reader without being over descriptive. It is fast paced and gripping and accurately portrays the relationships between characters.

I thought that the story itself was really well thought out and I liked that it was a really well rounded story that could be a stand alone as well as part of a trilogy.

The main character Katniss is stuboorn, but very likeable and I think she would appeal to most people in one way or another. Her relationships with other characters are really well described and you can feel her happiness and pain throughout the book.

I definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

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Book Review: Look at Me

Look at Me by Jennifer Egan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book took me a while to read as I found it really hard going. The first 20% of the book was really promising and I thought I was on to a winner. But unfortunately I was disappointed.

The story follows two characters, both called Charlotte and their lives get more intertwined as the story goes on. The older Charlotte has been in a road traffic accident and no longer recognises herself and also has to find whether her career as a model is over. I enjoyed reading about this Charlotte at first, but as I learnt more about her, I liked her less and less and found it really hard to connect with her. I think this is what spoilt the book for me and made me less desperate to know her story. The truth was I just couldn't care about her.

The younger Charlotte was the only reason I wanted to keep reading. A teenage girl who is struggling with herself and looking for acceptance, both from inside and outside of her family. Her story interested me most and I cared about her. I would have preferred this story if it had been pitched differently and focused more about the younger Charlotte, with the older Charlotte as a sub plot.

I'm sure there are people out there who would like this type of book, but I am not a fan of this kind of characterisation. So this one was just not for me.

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Book Review: Pear Shaped

Pear Shaped by Stella Newman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had read some good things about this book and managed to get it fairly cheap on the Kindle.

I enjoy chick lit as long as it's not too fluffy and has a good story. This was exactly this. It has a few underlying storylines which work well with the main plot of the romance. The main character is well formed and likeable, even when she was doing things that you knew wouldn't turn out too well.

The story is well paced and kept me wanting to read more. I believe Stella Newman is good enough to be up there with Marian Keyes, Jane Costello and the other chick lit greats.

I would definitely read more of her work as it has everything I like in a good piece of chick lit, humour, romance and a bit of a serious side.

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Book Review: Loose Connections

Loose Connections by Rachel Trezise
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book really quickly and really enjoyed it.

Rachel Tresize is a local writer and I thought this short story was the perfect opportunity to try her work.

I'm glad I did as this story was fast paced, witty and very dark. It is about a woman who has heen having issues with her internet connection and is a bit on the edge for reasons which unfold. These reasons become apparent when she has to deal with one repairman too many who has the unfortunate pleasure of being at the receiving end of her frustration.

Funny yet very dark, and very well written. I will definitely be reading more from this writer!

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Book Review: Room

Room by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book after it was recommended to me and managed to pick it up very reasonably on the Kindle.

This book is told from the point of view of 5 year old Jack and gives us a real insight into his life and world, which are considerably smaller then your average 5 year old. It took me a while to get used to the style of writing, but I think it worked once I had settled into it.

Jack lives with his Ma in Room and they live a very unusual life. In the book Jack takes us through the way they live and changes they encounter along the way.

I preferred the first part of the book to the second as I found the plot lost its way slightly and I found the ending a bit abrupt. However, I thought it was a brave book in both the way it was written and the subjects it tackled and it kept my attention all the way through. If I were allowed to give half stars, I would give it 4.5 due to the drifting of the second part.

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Book Review: Death of a Gossip

Death of a Gossip by M.C. Beaton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is the first in M.C Beaton's Hamish Macbeth series and the first I have read featuring Hamish Macbeth. I decided to give this series a try as I enjoy the Agatha Raisin series so much and I was not disappointed.

I really enjoyed reading this and though it had some strong local characters as well as the fishing school "incomers" and it kept me guessing over who the murderer was.

I liked the Highland twist on the countryside murder mystery and will definitely read the rest of the series!



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Book Review: True Things About Me

True Things About Me by Deborah Kay Davies
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I came across this book on my creative writing course as the writer had also attended the same course. An excerpt was given as an example of an unusual writing style. From that excerpt I wanted to read more.

I liked the way that the book was written as it was an unusual style and leant itself to making me feel in tune with the character and feel her panic and how things were running away with her.

The story itself is about a woman who is getting involved with a man who she really shouldn't be. Everything screams wrong, but she just gets in deeper and deeper. The book was really compelling and I kept wanting to read more, but in a way it was something of a morbid fascination as you know it can't go too well.

The reason I have given this three stars is that I felt I couldn't enjoy it because of the subject and the main character wasn't particularly endearing because of the route she was choosing to take. Despite this, I found that it was a good read, if a little disturbing. I liked the style of writing and would read more by Deborah Kay Davies.

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Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

It took me quite a while to read this book as it took me ages to concentrate enough to get into it. I bought it on the Kindle as I wanted to see what all the fuss was about to be honest!!

The first two paragraphs were very descriptive and told you a lot about characters who you hadn't really met yet. If I hadn't been told it picked up at chapter 3, I would probably have given up.

The main body of the book was very gripping and quite shocking in some places. It followed the story of Blomkvist, a disgraced journalist who has been given the job of finding out what really happened to a girl who disappeared 40 years ago. We also follow Salander, a social outcast whose path eventually crosses with Blomkvist and they work on the mystery together.

This book is not for the faint hearted and is extremely graphic in places. It adds a sense of realism to the book and it has a few unexpected twists and turns. I found that some of the book was over descriptive. I'm not sure if this was intended or whether it was a by-product of being translated from Swedish into English. This made the book quite hard going for me in some places and it took a lot of concentration to read.

I found the last couple of chapters particularly hard going as they were very focused on computer type stuff that I don't understand and corporate sabotage and I found it quite difficult to follow. Maybe if I had more of a business brain then I would have enjoyed this part, but it was a little too much for me.

I enjoyed the book overall and would probably read the rest of the series. I would have given this book 5 stars, had the first two chapters beem omitted and the last few chapters trimmed down. Overall, a good book.

Book Review: The Skeleton in the Closet

I got this book for 99p over the Christmas period for my Kindle. I've only ever read one non-Agatha Raisin book by M.C. Beaton and didn't really like it, so I was a bit apprehensive about this book.

I started reading it on the train on the way back from London as I needed an easy read after a long day and got into it really quickly.

This book still has a mystery element to it, as well as an underlying romance. I found the story interesting and I always like a story about the underdog, so enjoyed this.

The book is fairly short and easy to get through, but I enjoy that type of book in between others as it's nice to clear your mind sometimes and just enjoy sailing through the story.

I would recommend this book for a nice bit of light reading, or something to read on public transport.

Book Review: Before I Go To Sleep

I bought this book from the Kindle store after much deliberating, as although I quite liked the sound of the story from the blurb, I wasn't sure it would be my type of book as I have never read anything like this before. EVERYONE needs to read this book as it was amazing.

I am so glad I bought it though as I honestly thought it was fantastic. I was hooked right from the beginning. I liked the style of writing and also the main character, Christine, was really believable and not annoying as I feared she may be as the victim.

I have never been as gripped by a book as I was by this one. I managed to totally block out everything else whilst reading (including Steve trying to have a conversation with me – oops) and every twist of the story had me gasping and on the edge of my seat.

When I got to the end of the book I literally had nothing else to say other than wow and was left reeling by it for a few hours.

I would seriously recommend this to anyone, whether they like thrillers or not. Although, don't start it if you have something important to do, as that thing will never get done! I have never read a thriller before this book, but would like to try some more. Any recommendations on where to start would be gratefully received!

My name is Sheli and I have a problem...



This is what my to read pile could look like!


Ok, so I think I may have a problem. An addiction if you like. My name is Sheli and I am a bibliophile.

I have bought far too many books this year and we are only ten days in! Some people buy shoes or handbags, I buy books. So far this year I have bought 17 real books and 12 for the Kindle. Although, to be fair, some of the e-books were free.

So what am I to do? I spend more time on Goodreads than I do on Facebook. I pore over The Book People catalogue when it comes as if it were something sordid. I am worried that as a hobby this may be going too far. Although, this may be more down to me only recently realising that reading was a hobby and not just something that people do for fun! (Do not ask me how my mind works and how I had decided what a hobby was!) The more I read, the more new books and authors I find that I want to read so it's a bit of a vicious circle for me. But I suppose it's a better vice than crack cocaine or a bottle of whiskey a day!

I'm thinking I may set myself some kind of book budget. By doing this I can still make sure I have money to do other things I need to, like buy clothes and do fun stuff. And I am also saving towards two things at the moment, redecorating my house and the possibility of going on my first ever holiday abroad this year!! 2012 could be a big year for me!



This is how I picture my holiday. I think I may have watched too many Carry On films.

Although in reality it will be more like this!!

Anyway, enough of my ramblings. I am starting a creative writing course next week so I am feeling pretty nervous about that. I feel a bit like it's going to be like my first day at school and have got a new pen and notebook in honour of it. I just hope that there will be some nice people on the course and even if I don't get a multi-million pound publishing deal out of it, then I hope to make some new friends.

I'll keep you updated on my book purchasing progress and on any developments relating to our holiday decisions!



Book Review: Are We Nearly There Yet?

I came across this book by chance. In fact, the only reason I downloaded it was because it was 99p in the Kindle store and I quite like reading about people's experiences of travel and tourism.

I'm so glad I gave it a chance though as I really enjoyed it. Ben and his wife Dinah embark on an 8,000 mile journey around Britain with two children under the age of 4 in a Vauxhall Astra, all in the name of writing a guide book on family friendly accommodation and attractions. This book is like a travel diary which sits behind the published guidebook and gives a frank and personal account of both the journey around Britain and the emotional journey Ben embarked on.

It was really well written and easy to read. I loved reading about the family's experiences in places I know and the stories about the children were really funny and made me glad I have a cat and no small children!

This book made me laugh and parts of it made me cry. This is a real person's account of the ups and downs of real life. How families and relationships really are. None of this rose tinted glasses and romance malarkey. I would definitely recommend this to anyone that likes reading about other people. Just brace yourself to laugh, blink back tears and go on a whistle-stop tour around Britain!!

Book Review: Miracle at the Museum of Broken Hearts

This Christmas novella was a freebie on Kindle and my first foray into e-book reading.

The story being set in a new museum really grabbed me as anyone who knows me knows how I love museums. I used to work in an open air museum with about 50 buildings set out as if the people who lived there had just popped out so I loved the ideas for the exhibition in this book. I digress!

The main character Rose is really likeable and she becomes the assistant curator at the Museum of Broken Hearts, even if she was the last choice of the owner, Heath.

Even though this was only a short story, it is written in the way that the story could easily be turned into a full novel or be used a prequel for further stories about these characters.

It was heartwarming and enjoyable without being over the top romantic and I really enjoyed it! I will definitely read more by Talli Roland and have downloaded another of her books to make a start on in the New Year.

Tales of Christmas and the days that followed

I may be a little bit late but have some pictures from Christmas to share and tales of what we did!

On Christmas Eve Father Christmas paid a special visit to Cardiff to drop off all of our presents and even fill a little cat sized stocking for Bruce.

We then had a special Christmas eve dinner of hot dogs and watched lots of Only Fools and Horses!

Christmas Day is always a bit of a mad rush for us as we open our presents in our house in the morning and then go to my mum's for lunch in Cardiff and then up to visit my other half's family in Aberdare.

This is what Father Christmas bought me to read and watch.

Father Christmas also brought me Bridesmaids on DVD, the obligatory Beano and Dandy annuals and Brendan Sheerin's autobiography (which I am currently reading!).

We had a hearty breakfast of bacon sandwiches and then set off on our journeys laden down with presents. It was just Steve, my mum and I for Christmas dinner this year as my nanna wasn't very well and mum cooked us a big turkey dinner. The downside to this was that I don't like roast turkey, so I had mainly a vegetable and gravy based dinner to get over this one! It was the first time that mum had bought turkey for about 15 years as dad didn't like it either, so I couldn't really complain!

After pudding we started making the long journey up the A470 to Aberdare via Hirwaun. We spent some time with Steve's parents (his dad had drunk a few too many in the traditional morning pub visit in the village so was particularly chatty and pretty funny too!). We then went down to Steve's grans. When we arrived, his aunty and uncle decided we hadn't quite travelled enough that day and that we should all decamp to their house! By this point we were pretty tired so stayed just long enough to be polite and then I had the pleasure of the long, drizzly and dark drive back down!

We got back in our house about 8pm and I don't know what Bruce had been doing all day as this was how he ended up after about half hour of us being home!

This picture is a little bit like where's Brucie as we hadn't had time to tidy up our presents and quite frankly by the time we got home couldn't be bothered!

We had our more relaxed Christmas Day at home on Boxing Day. I cooked us a big chicken dinner (I like roast chicken and so do Steve and Bruce!) and we had a toffee pudding for afters.

We then watched one of Steve's action films from Santa and I read my book. We had a few drinks though the day and it was really relaxed and lovely. And I didn't have to leave the house apart from to take the bins out!!!

On Tuesday I defected to the dark side. I bought a Kindle with my Christmas money. Some of you may have read my post about e-books and be a bit shocked at this or think I'm going back on my word, but hear me out. I have recently got back into reading and after reading some of my friends reviews on Goodreads felt I was missing out on the big world of free books and cheap e-books. Also, as the money was a gift, it wasn't my money so was the perfect opportunity to satisfy my curiosity. (This is my excuse and I'm sticking to it!).

Things didn't go as well as planned from here. I went to my local large electrical superstore and bought a Kindle there so I could have it straight away and my experience started badly as the shop assistants weren't interested in me. As I was only spending £89 on an e-reader and not £3billiion on a 70ft LED 3D television, it took me ages to ask a few questions and then got greeted by them trying to sell me a Kindle cover for £40. No thank you!

I eventually got out of the shop with my purchase in hand (I had forgotten my bag for life and wasn't going to pay 5p for a bag when I have a large reserve of them under my stairs!).

I got home and unpacked the Kindle (frustration free packaging, my ar*e!) it took both of us around 45 minutes to switch the thing on! I thought there was something fishy with this, but put it down to me being technologically inept. When Steve eventually got it working, I was so pleased (after wanting to throw it through the window!) but my joy was short lived. About 5 minutes later the device froze! This carried on happening until it decided to not let me reset it anymore and Kindle sadly died.

I returned to said large electrical superstore chain yesterday morning and informed them that the device was broken and that I would require a new one. To my surprise, they were obliging and friendly (this came as a shock to me!). I checked it before leaving the store just in case and, hurrah, it turned on within seconds! I wasn't as technologically inept as I thought! This was yesterday morning and it's still working so it's going well!

I am enjoying the (free and cheap) e-book experience and have also downloaded an electronic version of one of my self help books so I can read it on the go without anyone knowing. I promise to stay faithful to hard copy print though and still love the feel of real books and would love to have a library in my house one day. For now, I'm just aiming for a comfy armchair in my study though (there are two bookcases and a desk in there so nearly a library!) and am planning to buy one this year IF I get my promotion on a permanent basis.

So this is what I am doing today.

This is what I will be watching.

And this is what I am wearing.

I pledge to read the printed word

I have taken the pledge!

Over the last few months I have been considering the benefits and disbenefits of a Kindle (or other reading device!) and have come to my final conclusion.

Give me a hard copy book any day!!

I'm not anti-Kindle at all. I can see the benefits of having one. For example, if you go away and you finish a book, you will have another one lined up on your "book shelf". I have noticed on Amazon that a lot of books are cheaper to buy electronically which I imagine is due to less resource being used to produce the book. I have also found out from other people that there are a lot of free books available and that it is a really good platform for self published authors. Another big bonus I see is that no-one can see what you are reading! This can be a good thing if you use public transport or read during your lunch break (I've got my self help books in mind now!) and want to keep embarrassing titles under wraps.

BUT...(and this is a big but)... I just love books! I love seeing them on my (non-virtual) book shelf, I love the feel of opening a new book and seeing how far through your bookmark is (or old Tesco receipt in my case), I love the smell of new books, I love the feeling of accomplishment you get when you reach the last page and more than anything I love the excitement of getting a new book (or 14 if you're lucky).

I'm not saying that electronic books are a bad thing, particularly if they get more people reading. They're just not for me.